Improved car-beake



A. H. SASSAMAN.

Car Brake,

Paffented June 23, 1868.

NPETERS FHOTO L TNOGRAPNER WASHINGTON o C AMBROSE s, SASSAMANQ OF LEBANON; PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 79,149, dated June 23, 1868.

IMPROVED UAR-BRAKE.

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ToALL WHOM IT MAY oouonnn:

Be-it known that I, AMBROSE SASSAMA'N, of Lebanon, in thecounty of Lebanon, and State of Pennsyl vania,. have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Railway-Oar Brakes; and I dohereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description .of the construction and operationbf the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, makings part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked'thcreone Figure 1, of the drawings, represents aside view of arailway-(car with one set of wheels removed to show the method of adjusting and operating my brake.

"Figure Zis an inverted plan .view of my brake attached to a cur.

The object of my invention is to provide better means than have heretofore been known for arresting the velocity of a car-:and bringing it to a halt, and more especially to arrest its speed in passing a down-grade, by providing that the'pressure of the cars'themselvcs may operate the brake at the will of the conductor;

, The letters A and 13 represent two bumpers, adjusted to the ear in the manner shown, each being hung in staples to the bottom of the car, and having suflicient' play-room on beams attached to said car-bottom These bumpers are also respectively connected with spiral springs at their inner ends,;thatpperate between. them and the shoulders C. They are alsoconneoted with the chai-nsD and E respectively, and the bumper A is connected and operates in conjunction with the lock F, all ofwhich are hereinafterdeseribed.

The shoulders G areiron projections, downward'from the bottom of the car, between which and the inner ends of bumpers A and B respectively I adjust the spiral springs or 'a, in the manner shown.

The letters G and H are arms, adjusted on a pivoted bar, in the manner represented, between the bottom of the carand a stirrup attached thereto Letter D is a chain, extending from bumper A around pulley cto one end of arm G. Letter E is a chain, extending from bumper B around pulley cite the oppositeend of arm G.

-LettersK K are levers, attached to the beam of the front truck of the ear, and letters L L are similar levers, attached tothe beam of the rear truck of the car. The mode of saidattachment and the form of said levers respectively are'shown in the drawings. v

Letters M audOiare rods, extending from each end of arm H to a point immediately in the rear of the beams of the two car-trucks, where they are connected respectively with the short chains h 7 and o 0, which said short chains are'in turn connected, in the mannershown, with the levers K K and L L.

Letter Fis a lock, adjusted in' staples to the bottom of the car. It has a spiral spring at one end, marked 9, that" operates between the end oi' the bolt and a shoulder on the car-bottom. It has also a slot on its upper side, and next the car-bottom, in which the key is operated, as hereinafter mentioned. The upper end of this lock-bolt is adjusted to fit in a slot or shoulder, near the inner end ofbumper A. Letterfis a key, constructed in the form of a hook, pivoted to the car-bottom, in the manner shown, and operated with a wireor chain, P; This wire P extends from the end of the long arm of keyfto the pulley R, near the rear of the car, and pass ing around said pulley extends upward, and is connected with the bell-rope, near the car-top, as shown at letter S on fig. 1.

' The letters '1 are the brakes, constructed in the usual form, and operated by the wedges V, as hereinaftermentioned.- I i i v The wedges V are four in number, each of which is attached respectivelyto standards that extend down ward from the respective beams of the trucks, in the manner represented on the drawings. They operate respectively between the brakes of the cars, and are alfixed to the'same standards respectively as the levers K K and LL. They are shaped in the-form somewhat of the letter s, and in operation force the brakes apart and against the car-wheels. i

Letter Ydsa'ehain, connected with the endofarm H, and extends rearward to and around the: capstan W, by which the-brake's man is enabled to movethe braking-machinery when he desires so to do.

I My device is operated as follows: v

In passing a. down grade the cars naturally crowd forward towards the locomotive, and it often is-desirable to check their speed. In that case the conductor pulls the bell-rope, and thereby releases the lock from its shoulder in bumper A. This movement, releases said bumpemand allows it to'crowd forward. At the same time the bumper B is crowded rearward, and the united action of the two, acting in conjunction with the levers, arms, chains, and pulleys, herein described, and with which they are connected, forces the wedges V against the brakes, and the brakes against the car-wheels.

To stop the cars,'the brakesman turns the capstan in the usual manner. What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

- N A. brake for railway-cars, having lock F, wedges V, arms Gr and H, levers K'K'and L L, chains D E, it It,

o 0,- and Y, and rods 1?, M, and O, constructed, combined, and arranged substantially as specified.

' AMBROSE H. SASSAMAN.

Witnesses NELSON DELANY, MATTHEW MENGO. 

